Puya Raymondi

I swore that after spending many cold nights in Bolivia, I would head directly to the beach in Peru and relax for a while. That was until I read about the amazing trekking opportunities in Huaraz. Huaraz is the jumping off point to treks and climbs in the Cordillera Blanca and another mountain range where the book "Into thin Air" was inspired (The book about the climber that broke his leg while climbing and was left by his partner to die but survived.). As usual, I decided to play it on the safe side and did a low-key 4 day trek (Santa Cruz trek) in the Cordillera Blanca that did not involve any technical climbing. As you can see from the pictures below, I was surrounded by snow-caped peaks throughout the trek.

I went with a small group, a guide and some donkeys carried the supplies so it was nice not to have to hike with lots of gear. After four days of walking, I took a night bus to Trujillo along the coast of Peru. From there, myself and one of the other girls I met on the Santa Cruz trek took a tour of various nearby ruins and then took another night bus to Mancora that same day. Mancora is a small, touristy beach-town located in Northern Peru near Ecuador. Below is a photo of boats made out of reeds that some of the local fisherman still use near Trujillo.

As a side note, I also took a tour out of Huaraz to see the famous Puya Raymondi plant. The plant is the largest Puya in it's genus and has the largest inflorescence in the world. I couldn't resist including a picture of the plant. I had to ask three different tourist to take my picture next to the plant until I was satisfied...You can see a dead version of this plant at the SF Botanical Garden in succulent section. After about 100 years, the plant flowers and then dies.

In two days I will be busing back to Lima to meet up with a friend from the states. From there we will be going to Cuzco and planning our trip to Machu Pichu. I hope you are all well...

-stacie